North east England blacklisting conference success

Unite members protesting against blacklisting, photo the Socialist (Click to enlarge)

Historic Wallsend, with its strong traditions of trade union militancy in mining and ship building, was the scene for an excellent conference of regional and national anti-blacklisting activists on 28 October. Supported by the National Education Union, general union Unite, and public services union Unison, it brought together activists and campaigners who've fought bitter battles against bosses and even some union officials who break the law to prevent trade unionists from being hired. Tony Seaman was elected this year to Unite's executive committee. He explained that he was unable to secure work in his home area of Teesside for 28 months as a result of construction firms seeking to prevent him fighting for compliance with sectoral agreements.

National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) and Socialist Party activists from Unite and the RMT supported the meeting and made contributions from the floor.